'Soccer mom' vs. experience

Incumbent John Mica, a Winter Park Republican, is bidding for a ninth term against first-time candidate Faye Armitage, a Democrat from St. Johns County. Armitage, 50, has been an economics professor, a grass-roots activist and a self-described "soccer mom." Mica, 65, is a former businessman and international trade consultant first elected to Congress in 1992.

The district

U.S. House District 7 snakes through six counties, from Winter Park to Jacksonville. It favors GOP candidates with about 42 percent of the voters registered Republican and 36 percent Democrat.

Credentials

Armitage: Holds bachelor's and master's degrees in economics from the University of Amsterdam and taught economics at Valencia Community College in the late 1990s. Became a crusader for embryonic stem-cell research, patient safety and universal health care after a 1996 soccer accident left her son a quadriplegic. She says experience, including lobbying lawmakers in Tallahassee and Washington, prepared her to advocate for voters.

Mica: Republican leader of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee; former chairman of the Subcommittee on Aviation from 2001 to 2006; a senior member on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Touts his commitment to job creation, citing the creation of several economic and industrial zones and airport expansions.

Strategy

Armitage is counting on anti-incumbent fever to help compensate for her lack of experience and money.

Mica has not waged an aggressive campaign, saying his experience speaks for itself.

Platforms

Armitage: Supports a government-run health-insurance system, the withdrawal of troops from Iraq within one year and investment in biomedical technology and alternative energy sources such as solar, wind and vertical algae. Says she can relate to people "because I've walked in their shoes . . . I have a son-in-law in Iraq, I'm a single mom, I have no health insurance and a disabled child. I'm uniquely suited to do something like this."

Mica: As top GOP leader of the House transportation committee, he will play a major role in rewriting the five-year transit bill next year. He says he will seek $300 million for the proposed Central Florida commuter-rail project and millions of dollars in additional transportation earmarks. "I get to say what projects [are funded], what the national policy is and to what level our state will receive federal return on transportation and gas tax dollars they send to Washington." He also supports energy independence, including offshore drilling.

Iraq

Both candidates say they want troops home. But while Armitage advocates withdrawal as soon as possible, Mica wants to wait until military commanders on the ground say it's the right time.

Health care

Both support universal coverage. Armitage favors a government takeover, similar to Medicare; Mica supports a private system modeled on the Massachusetts Health Care Reform Plan, which combines a requirement for everyone to buy insurance with government subsidies for those who cannot pay.

Trading barbs

Armitage blames the financial collapse on the "free-market free for all" espoused by Mica and President Bush. She says government should "prevent economic catastrophes," not cause them. Mica counters that his record on the financial crisis is "sterling." He was one of few lawmakers who voted against banking deregulation in 1999 and 2002; says he tried, with Rep. Christopher Shays of Connecticut, to bring Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and other institutions under regulation. He voted against the $700 billion bank bailout plan last week because he said it didn't offer enough protections for taxpayers.

Money matters

Armitage: Has raised $19,928 and spent $13,127.

Mica: Has raised $950,782 and spent $583,277.

Sizing up the race

Armitage should benefit from anti-incumbent sentiment, "get out the vote" efforts by Barack Obama supporters and anger toward Mica for voting against the bailout, said T. Wayne Bailey, a political-science professor at Stetson University and Democratic Party volunteer. But Mica's name recognition and budget make him hard to beat.